Petula Clark
Encyclopedia
Petula Clark, CBE
(born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer
whose career has spanned seven decades.
Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio
during World War II
. During the 1960s she became known internationally for her popular upbeat hits, including "Downtown
", "I Know a Place
", "My Love
", "Colour My World
", "A Sign of the Times
", and "Don't Sleep in the Subway
." She has sold in excess of 68 million records throughout her career.
Phillips), both nurses at Long Grove Hospital, in Epsom
, Surrey
, England, she was christened Petula Sally Olwen Clark. Her father Leslie coined her first name, jokingly alleging it was a combination of the names of two former girlfriends, Pet and Ulla. As a child, she sang in the chapel
choir
and showed a talent for mimicry, frequently impersonating Vera Lynn
, Carmen Miranda
, and Sophie Tucker
for the amusement of family and friends. Her father introduced her to theatre when he took her to see Flora Robson
in a 1938 production of Mary Tudor; she later recalled that after the performance "I made up my mind then and there I was going to be an actress ... I wanted to be Ingrid Bergman
more than anything else in the world." However, her first public performances were as a singer, performing with an orchestra in the entrance hall of Bentalls Department Store
in Kingston upon Thames
for a tin of toffee
and a gold wristwatch, in 1939.
In October 1942, Clark made her radio debut while attending a BBC broadcast with her father, hoping to send a message to an uncle stationed overseas. During an air raid, the producer requested that someone perform to settle the jittery audience, and she volunteered a rendering of "Mighty Lak a Rose" to an enthusiastic response in the theatre. She then repeated her performance for the broadcast audience, launching a series of some 500 appearances in programmes designed to entertain the troops. In addition to radio work, Clark frequently toured the United Kingdom with fellow child performer Julie Andrews
. Clark became known as "Britain's Shirley Temple
," and she was considered a mascot by the British Army
, whose troops plastered her photos on their tanks for good luck as they advanced into battle.
In 1944, while performing at London's Royal Albert Hall
, Clark was discovered by film director Maurice Elvey
, who cast her as precocious orphaned waif Irma in his weepy war drama Medal for the General
. In quick succession, she starred in Strawberry Roan, I Know Where I'm Going!
, London Town, and Here Come the Huggetts
, the first in a series of Huggett Family films based on a British radio series. Although most of the films she made in the UK during the 1940s and 1950s were B-movies, she worked with Anthony Newley
in Vice Versa (directed by Peter Ustinov
) and Alec Guinness
in The Card
.
In 1945, Clark was featured in the comic strip Radio Fun
, in which she was billed as "Radio's Merry Mimic".
In 1946, Clark launched her television career with an appearance on a BBC variety show, Cabaret Cartoons, which led to her being signed to host her own afternoon series, titled simply Petula Clark. A second, Pet's Parlour, followed in 1949. In later years, she starred in This is Petula Clark
(1966–1967) and The Sound of Petula
(1972–1974).
In 1949, Clark branched into recording with her first release, "Put Your Shoes On, Lucy," for EMI
. Because neither EMI nor Decca
, for whom she also had recorded, were keen to sign her to a long-term contract, her father, whose own theatrical ambitions had been thwarted by his parents, teamed with Alan A. Freeman
to form Polygon Records
in order to better control her singing career. She scored a number of major hits in the UK during the 1950s, including "The Little Shoemaker
" (1954), "Majorca" (1955), "Suddenly There's a Valley
" (1955) and "With All My Heart
" (1956). Although Clark released singles in the United States as early as 1951 (the first was "Tell Me Truly" b/w "Song Of The Mermaid" on the Coral label), it would take thirteen years before the American record-buying public would discover her.
In 1955, Clark became linked romantically with Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson. Speculation that the couple planned to marry became rife. However, with the increasing glare of being in the public spotlight, and Clark's growing fame — her career in France was just beginning — Henderson, reportedly not wanting to end up as "Mr. Petula Clark", decided to end the relationship. Their professional relationship continued for a couple of years, culminating in the BBC Radio series Pet and Mr. Piano, the last time they worked together, although they remained on friendly terms. In 1962, he penned a ballad about their break-up, called "There's Nothing More To Say", for Clark's LP In Other Words. In the last month of 1955, Clark became infatuated with a certain Joken Hing. This romance didn't last.
Near the end of 1955, Polygon Records was sold to Nixa Records, then part of Pye Records
, which lead to the establishment of Pye Nixa Records (subsequently simply Pye). This turn of events effectively signed Clark to the Pye label in the UK, for whom she would record for the remainder of the 1950s, throughout the 1960s, and early into the 1970s.
where, despite her misgivings and a bad cold, she was received with acclaim. The following day she was invited to the office of Vogue Records
to discuss a contract. It was there that she met publicist Claude Wolff, to whom she was attracted immediately, and when told he would work with her if she signed with the label, she agreed. Her initial French recordings were huge successes, and in 1960 she embarked on a concert tour of France and Belgium with Sacha Distel
, who remained a close friend until his death in 2004. Gradually she moved further into the continent, recording in German, French, Italian and Spanish, and establishing herself as a multi-lingual performer.
In June 1961, Clark married Wolff, first in a civil ceremony in Paris, then a religious one in her native England. Wanting to escape the strictures of child stardom imposed upon her by the British public, and anxious to escape the influence of her father, she relocated to France, where she and Wolff had two daughters, Barbara Michelle and Katherine Natalie, in quick succession. (Their son Patrick was born in 1972.) While Clark focused on her new career in France, she continued to achieve hit records in the UK into the early 1960s, developing a parallel career on both sides of the Channel. Her 1961 recording of "Sailor
" became her first #1 hit in the U.K., while such follow-up recordings as "Romeo
" and "My Friend the Sea" landed her in the British Top Ten later that year. In France, "Ya Ya Twist" (a French-language cover of the Lee Dorsey
rhythm and blues song "Ya Ya" and the only successful recording of a twist
song by a female) and "Chariot" (the original version of "I Will Follow Him
") became smash hits in 1962, while German and Italian versions of her English and French recordings charted as well. Her recordings of several Serge Gainsbourg
songs also were big sellers.
In 1964, Clark wrote the soundtrack for the French crime film A Couteaux Tirés (aka Daggers Drawn) and made a cameo appearance as herself in the movie. Although it was only a mild success, it added a new dimension — that of film composer — to her career. Additional film scores she composed include Animato (1969), La bande à Bebel (1966), and Pétain (1989). Six themes from the latter were released on the CD In Her Own Write in 2007.
In 1963 and 1964, Clark's British recording career foundered. The composer-arranger Tony Hatch
, who had been assisting her with her work for Vogue Records in France and Pye Records in the UK, flew to her home in Paris with new song material he hoped would interest her, but she found none of it appealing. Desperate, he played for her a few chords of an incomplete song that had been inspired by his recent first trip to New York City
, which he suggested might be offered to The Drifters
. Upon hearing the melody, Clark told him that if he could write lyrics as good as the melody, she wanted to record the tune as her next single. Thus "Downtown
" came into being.
executive Joe Smith heard it and acquired the rights for the United States. "Downtown" went to #1 on the American charts in January 1965, and three million copies were sold in America. It was the first of fifteen consecutive Top 40 hits Clark achieved in the United States, including "I Know a Place
", "My Love
", "A Sign of the Times
", "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love
", "This Is My Song
" (from the Charles Chaplin film A Countess from Hong Kong
), and "Don't Sleep in the Subway
". The American recording industry honored her with Grammy Award
s for "Best Rock & Roll Record" for "Downtown" in 1964 and for "Best Contemporary Female Vocal Performance" for "I Know a Place" in 1965. In 2003, her recording of "Downtown" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame
.
Clark's recording successes led to frequent appearances on American variety programs hosted by Ed Sullivan
and Dean Martin
, guest shots on Hullabaloo
, Shindig!
, The Kraft Music Hall, and The Hollywood Palace
, and inclusion in musical specials such as The Best on Record and Rodgers and Hart
Today.
In 1968, NBC-TV invited Clark to host her own special in the U.S., and in doing so she inadvertently made television history. While singing a duet of "On the Path of Glory," an anti-war song that she had composed, with guest Harry Belafonte
, she took hold of his arm, to the dismay of a representative from the Chrysler
Corporation, the show's sponsor, who feared that the moment would incur the racist bigotry of Southern viewers. When he insisted that they substitute a different take, with Clark and Belafonte standing well away from one another, Clark and the executive producer of the show — her husband, Wolff — refused, destroyed all other takes of the song and delivered the finished program to NBC with the touch intact. The program aired on 8 April 1968, with high ratings and critical acclaim. (To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the original telecast, Clark and Wolff appeared at the Paley Center for Media in Manhattan
on 22 September 2008, to discuss the broadcast and its impact, following a broadcast of the program.)
Clark later was the hostess of two more specials, another one for NBC and one for ABC
- one which served as a pilot for a projected weekly series. Clark declined the offer in order to please her children, who disliked living in Los Angeles
.
Clark revived her movie career in the late 1960s, starring in two big musical films. In Finian's Rainbow
(1968), she starred opposite Fred Astaire
and she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
for her performance. With her role, she again made history by becoming Astaire's final on-screen dance partner. The following year she was cast with Peter O'Toole
in Goodbye, Mr. Chips
, a musical adaptation of the classic James Hilton
novella
. (Her last film to date has been the British production Never Never Land
, released in 1980.) After that, her output of musical hits in the States diminished markedly, although she continued to record and make television appearances into the 1970s. By the mid-1970s, Clark scaled back her career in order to devote more time to her family. On December 31, 1976, she performed her hit song Downtown on BBC1's A Jubilee Of Music
, celebrating British pop music for Queen Elizabeth II's impending Silver Jubilee
.
Herb Alpert
and his A&M
record label benefited from Clark's interest in encouraging new talent. In 1968, she brought French composer/arranger Michel Colombier
to the States to work as her musical director and introduced him to Alpert. (He went on to co-write Purple Rain
with Prince, composed the acclaimed pop symphony Wings and a number of soundtracks for American films.) Richard Carpenter
credited her with bringing him and his sister Karen to Alpert's attention when they performed at a premiere party for Clark's film Goodbye, Mr. Chips.
Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Clark toured in concerts in the States, and she often appeared in supper clubs such as the Copacabana
in New York City, the Ambassador Hotel's Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles, and the Empire Room at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
, where she consistently broke house attendance records. During this period, she also appeared in print and radio ads for the Coca Cola Corp., television commercials for Plymouth automobiles, print and TV spots for Burlington Industries
, television and print ads for Chrysler Sunbeam, and print ads for Sanderson Wallpaper in the UK.
In 1954, Clark had starred in a stage production of The Constant Nymph, but it wasn't until 1981, at the urging of her children, that she returned to legitimate theatre, starring as Maria von Trapp
in The Sound of Music
in London's West End
. Opening to rave reviews and what was then the largest advance sale in British theatre history, Clark — proclaimed by Maria Von Trapp
herself as "the best Maria ever" — extended her initial six-month run to thirteen to accommodate the huge demand for tickets. In 1983, she took on the title role in George Bernard Shaw
's Candida
. Later stage work includes Someone Like You in 1989 and 1990, for which she composed the score; Blood Brothers, in which she made her Broadway
debut in 1993 at the Music Box Theatre
, followed by the American tour; and Andrew Lloyd Webber
's Sunset Boulevard
, appearing in both the West End and American touring productions from 1995 through 2000. In 2004, she repeated her performance of Norma Desmond in a production at the Cork Opera House
in the Republic of Ireland, which was later broadcast by the BBC. With more than 2,500 performances, she has played the role more often than any other actress.
A new disco re-mix of Downtown called Downtown '88 was released in 1988 registering Clark's first UK singles chart success since 1972, making the Top Ten in the UK in December 1988. A live vocal performance of this version was performed on the UK TV chart show Top Of The Pops. Clark recorded new material regularly throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and in 1992 released "Oxygen", a single produced by Nik Kershaw.
In both 1998 and 2002, Clark toured extensively throughout the UK. In 2000, she presented a self-written one-woman show, highlighting her life and career, to large critical and audience acclaim at the St. Denis Theater in Montreal
. A 2003 concert appearance at the Olympia in Paris has been issued in both DVD
and compact disc
formats. In 2004, she toured Australia and New Zealand, appeared at the Hilton in Atlantic City
, the Hummingbird Centre in Toronto, Humphrey's in San Diego
, and the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut
, and participated in a multi-performer tribute to the late Peggy Lee
at the Hollywood Bowl
. Following another British concert tour in early spring 2005, she appeared with Andy Williams
in his Moon River Theater in Branson, Missouri
, for several months, and she returned for another engagement in the fall of 2006, following scattered concert dates throughout the U.S. and Canada.
In November 2006, Clark was the subject of a BBC Four
documentary entitled Petula Clark: Blue Lady and appeared with Michael Ball
and Tony Hatch
in a concert at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane broadcast by BBC Radio the following month. In December that year she made her first appearance in Iceland. Duets, a compilation including Dusty Springfield
, Peggy Lee
, Dean Martin
, Bobby Darin
, and the Everly Brothers, among others, was released in February 2007, and Solitude and Sunshine, a studio recording of all new material by composer Rod McKuen
, was released in July of that year. She was the host of the March 2007 PBS
pledge-drive special My Music: The British Beat, an overview of music's British invasion
of the United States in the 1960s, followed by a number of concert dates throughout the U.S., the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. She can be heard on the soundtrack of the 2007 independent film
Downtown: A Street Tale
. Une Baladine (in English, a wandering minstrel), an authorized pictorial biography
by Francoise Piazza, was published in France and Switzerland in October 2007, and the following month Clark promoted it in bookshops and at book fairs.
Clark was presented with the 2007 Film & TV Music Award for Best Use of a Song in a Television Program for "Downtown" in the ABC series Lost
. She completed a concert tour of England and Wales in Summer 2008, followed by concerts in Switzerland and the Philippines. Then & Now
, a compilation of greatest hits and several new Clark compositions, entered the British album charts in June 2008 and won Clark her first-ever Silver Disc for an album. Open Your Heart: A Love Song Collection, a compilation of previously unreleased material and new and remixed recordings, was released in January 2009. Additionally, her 1969 NBC special Portrait of Petula, already released on DVD for Region 2 viewers, is also being produced for Region 1. A collection of holiday songs titled This Is Christmas, which includes some new Clark compositions in addition to previously released material, was released in November 2009.
In 1998, Clark was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
by Queen Elizabeth II
.
In 2010, Clark became the President of the Hastings Musical Festival
; she toured Australia, New Zealand and Quebec to sell out crowds, and appeared on the iconic "Vivement Dimanche" show on French television, where she promised a return to Paris in the new year. (She is to appear in concert at the Casino de Paris on 7th November of 2011.) Her Triple Best of CD, "Une Baladine" included 10 new tracks and one new studio recording "SOS Mozart" a writing collaboration of Gilbert Bécaud and Pierre Delanoë. Both her 3CD set and her new recording of "SOS Mozart" were produced by David Hadzis at the Arthanor Productions studio in Geneva and appeared on the French charts. She is patron of 2011 Dinard British Film Festival.
All four songs were released in 1964 in Spain on Hispavox EP
"Petula Clark canta en Español" (Cat.-No. HV 27-126).
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
whose career has spanned seven decades.
Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. During the 1960s she became known internationally for her popular upbeat hits, including "Downtown
Downtown (Petula Clark song)
"Downtown" is a pop song composed by Tony Hatch which, as recorded by Petula Clark, became an international hit – No. 1 in the US and No. 2 in the UK – at the end of 1964.-Original recording:...
", "I Know a Place
I Know a Place
"I Know a Place" is a song with music and lyrics by Tony Hatch. It was recorded in 1965 by Petula Clark at the Pye Studios in Marble Arch in a session which featured drummer Bobby Graham and the Breakaways vocal group....
", "My Love
My Love (Petula Clark song)
"My Love" is a 1965 single release by Petula Clark which in early 1966 became an international hit, reaching #1 in the US: Clark's regular songwriter and producer Tony Hatch was responsible for "My Love"....
", "Colour My World
Colour My World (Petula Clark song)
"Colour My World" is a song written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent recorded by Petula Clark in 1966.While overall conforming to the hit formula Hatch had come up with for Clark with "Downtown" - and being especially reminiscent of Clark's 1965 #1 hit "My Love - "Colour My World" acknowledged the...
", "A Sign of the Times
A Sign of the Times
"A Sign of the Times" was the followup to Petula Clark's #1 US hit "My Love", continuing her association with writer/producer Tony Hatch though with a more percussive sound than was evident on Clark's previous singles – or would be evident on her later ones....
", and "Don't Sleep in the Subway
Don't Sleep in the Subway
"Don't Sleep in the Subway" is a song written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent and recorded by Petula Clark. Released in April 1967, it peaked at #5 on the US charts that June. It was Clark's final US top-ten single and the second of two #1 hits on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, following "I...
." She has sold in excess of 68 million records throughout her career.
Early years
Born to English father Leslie Norman Clark and Welsh mother Doris (néeMarried and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Phillips), both nurses at Long Grove Hospital, in Epsom
Epsom
Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. Small parts of Epsom are in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. The town is located south-south-west of Charing Cross, within the Greater London Urban Area. The town lies on the chalk downland of Epsom Downs.-History:Epsom lies...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England, she was christened Petula Sally Olwen Clark. Her father Leslie coined her first name, jokingly alleging it was a combination of the names of two former girlfriends, Pet and Ulla. As a child, she sang in the chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
and showed a talent for mimicry, frequently impersonating Vera Lynn
Vera Lynn
Dame Vera Lynn, DBE is an English singer-songwriter and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during World War II. During the war she toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops...
, Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda, GCIH was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, Broadway actress and Hollywood film star popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She was, by some accounts, the highest-earning woman in the United States and noted for her signature fruit hat outfit she wore in the 1943 movie The Gang's...
, and Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...
for the amusement of family and friends. Her father introduced her to theatre when he took her to see Flora Robson
Flora Robson
Dame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE was an English actress, renowned as a character actress, who played roles ranging from queens to villainesses.-Early life:...
in a 1938 production of Mary Tudor; she later recalled that after the performance "I made up my mind then and there I was going to be an actress ... I wanted to be Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
more than anything else in the world." However, her first public performances were as a singer, performing with an orchestra in the entrance hall of Bentalls Department Store
Bentalls
Bentalls is an English department store chain with branches in Kingston upon Thames, Greater London, and Bracknell, Berkshire. The well regarded 'county' department store began as a drapery shop, founded by Frank Bentall in 1867...
in Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
for a tin of toffee
Toffee
Toffee is a confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses along with butter, and occasionally flour. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the hard crack stage of 300 to 310 °F...
and a gold wristwatch, in 1939.
In October 1942, Clark made her radio debut while attending a BBC broadcast with her father, hoping to send a message to an uncle stationed overseas. During an air raid, the producer requested that someone perform to settle the jittery audience, and she volunteered a rendering of "Mighty Lak a Rose" to an enthusiastic response in the theatre. She then repeated her performance for the broadcast audience, launching a series of some 500 appearances in programmes designed to entertain the troops. In addition to radio work, Clark frequently toured the United Kingdom with fellow child performer Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
. Clark became known as "Britain's Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
," and she was considered a mascot by the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, whose troops plastered her photos on their tanks for good luck as they advanced into battle.
In 1944, while performing at London's Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, Clark was discovered by film director Maurice Elvey
Maurice Elvey
Maurice Elvey was the most prolific film director in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year....
, who cast her as precocious orphaned waif Irma in his weepy war drama Medal for the General
Medal for the General
Medal for the General is a 1944 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey. The screenplay by Elizabeth Baron is based on the novel of the same title by James Ronald.-Plot:...
. In quick succession, she starred in Strawberry Roan, I Know Where I'm Going!
I Know Where I'm Going!
I Know Where I'm Going! is a 1945 romance film by the British-based film-makers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey, and features Pamela Brown, Finlay Currie and Petula Clark in her fourth film appearance....
, London Town, and Here Come the Huggetts
Here Come the Huggetts
Here Come the Huggetts is a 1948 British film, the first of the Huggetts Trilogy about a working class English family. All three films were directed by Ken Annakin and released by Gainsborough Pictures....
, the first in a series of Huggett Family films based on a British radio series. Although most of the films she made in the UK during the 1940s and 1950s were B-movies, she worked with Anthony Newley
Anthony Newley
Anthony George Newley was an English actor, singer and songwriter. He enjoyed success as a performer in such diverse fields as rock and roll and stage and screen acting.-Early life:...
in Vice Versa (directed by Peter Ustinov
Peter Ustinov
Peter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
) and Alec Guinness
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
in The Card
The Card
The Card is a short comedic novel written by Arnold Bennett in 1911, . It was later made into a 1952 movie starring Alec Guinness and Petula Clark. It chronicles the rise of Edward Henry Machin from washerwoman's son to Mayor of Bursley...
.
In 1945, Clark was featured in the comic strip Radio Fun
Radio Fun
Radio Fun was a British comic paper that ran from 15 October 1938 to 18 February 1961, when it became the first out of twelve titles to merge with Buster. By this time it had been renamed to Radio Fun and Adventure...
, in which she was billed as "Radio's Merry Mimic".
In 1946, Clark launched her television career with an appearance on a BBC variety show, Cabaret Cartoons, which led to her being signed to host her own afternoon series, titled simply Petula Clark. A second, Pet's Parlour, followed in 1949. In later years, she starred in This is Petula Clark
This is Petula Clark
This is Petula Clark was a six-episode comedy/variety series that aired on the BBC in 1966. In the series, host Petula Clark intermingled her contemporary hits with popular standards, and introduced to the British public international stars who were relatively unknown in the UK. Guests included...
(1966–1967) and The Sound of Petula
The Sound of Petula
The Sound of Petula was a musical variety series hosted by Petula Clark that aired on the BBC from December 17, 1972 through December 21, 1974.Each episode had a theme and featured a guest star or two...
(1972–1974).
In 1949, Clark branched into recording with her first release, "Put Your Shoes On, Lucy," for EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. Because neither EMI nor Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
, for whom she also had recorded, were keen to sign her to a long-term contract, her father, whose own theatrical ambitions had been thwarted by his parents, teamed with Alan A. Freeman
Alan A. Freeman
Alan A. Freeman was an English record producer, remembered for being Petula Clark's producer from 1949 until 1963, when his role was taken over by Tony Hatch...
to form Polygon Records
Polygon Records
Polygon Records was one of the first British independent record labels.It was started in 1949 as the Polygon Record Company Ltd. by Alan A. Freeman and Leslie Clark, who was anxious to control distribution of his daughter Petula Clark's recordings...
in order to better control her singing career. She scored a number of major hits in the UK during the 1950s, including "The Little Shoemaker
The Little Shoemaker
"The Little Shoemaker" is a popular song based on the French song, "Le petit cordonnnier," by Rudi Revil. The original French lyric was written by Francis Lemarque. The English language lyrics were written by Geoffrey Claremont Parsons, Nathan Korb and John Turner.In the United States, the...
" (1954), "Majorca" (1955), "Suddenly There's a Valley
Suddenly There's a Valley
"Suddenly There's a Valley" is a popular song written by Chuck Meyer and Biff Jones and published in 1955.The song was a major hit for Gogi Grant in 1955. Her recording was issued by Era Records as catalog number 1003 and reached Billboard magazine's Top 10...
" (1955) and "With All My Heart
With All My Heart
"With All My Heart" is a popular song, based on an originally French and Italian language song called "Gondolier." It was written by Peter De Angelis and Bob Marcucci....
" (1956). Although Clark released singles in the United States as early as 1951 (the first was "Tell Me Truly" b/w "Song Of The Mermaid" on the Coral label), it would take thirteen years before the American record-buying public would discover her.
In 1955, Clark became linked romantically with Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson. Speculation that the couple planned to marry became rife. However, with the increasing glare of being in the public spotlight, and Clark's growing fame — her career in France was just beginning — Henderson, reportedly not wanting to end up as "Mr. Petula Clark", decided to end the relationship. Their professional relationship continued for a couple of years, culminating in the BBC Radio series Pet and Mr. Piano, the last time they worked together, although they remained on friendly terms. In 1962, he penned a ballad about their break-up, called "There's Nothing More To Say", for Clark's LP In Other Words. In the last month of 1955, Clark became infatuated with a certain Joken Hing. This romance didn't last.
Near the end of 1955, Polygon Records was sold to Nixa Records, then part of Pye Records
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
, which lead to the establishment of Pye Nixa Records (subsequently simply Pye). This turn of events effectively signed Clark to the Pye label in the UK, for whom she would record for the remainder of the 1950s, throughout the 1960s, and early into the 1970s.
International fame
In 1958, Clark was invited to appear at the Paris OlympiaParis Olympia
The Olympia is a music hall in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Located at No. 28, Boulevard des Capucines, its closest métro/RER stations are Madeleine, Opéra, Havre – Caumartin and Auber....
where, despite her misgivings and a bad cold, she was received with acclaim. The following day she was invited to the office of Vogue Records
Disques Vogue
Disques Vogue was founded in France in 1947, the same year that the USA Vogue closed shop. They originally specialized in jazz recordings, featuring such artists as Sidney Bechet, Django Reinhardt, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, and Errol Garner. In the late 1950s Vogue expanded into pop music,...
to discuss a contract. It was there that she met publicist Claude Wolff, to whom she was attracted immediately, and when told he would work with her if she signed with the label, she agreed. Her initial French recordings were huge successes, and in 1960 she embarked on a concert tour of France and Belgium with Sacha Distel
Sacha Distel
Sacha Distel was a French singer and guitarist who had hits with a cover version of the Academy Award-winning "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" , "Scoubidou", and "The Good Life". He was born in Paris.-Career:Sacha Distel, born Alexandre Distel, was a son of Russian White émigré Leonid Distel...
, who remained a close friend until his death in 2004. Gradually she moved further into the continent, recording in German, French, Italian and Spanish, and establishing herself as a multi-lingual performer.
Sailor (Song)
Sailor is a song written by Werner Scharfenberger and Fini Busch which via a 1960 recording by Lolita became an international hit, with its #5 peak on the Hot 100 chart in Billboard making "Sailor" the most successful American hit sung in German until 99 Luftballons by Nena in 1984.With English...
" became her first #1 hit in the U.K., while such follow-up recordings as "Romeo
Romeo (Petula Clark song)
Romeo was a 1961 hit single for Petula Clark peaking at #3 on the UK chart dated 26 August.The song was a 1921 composition by Robert Stolz for which Jimmy Kennedy wrote a new lyric...
" and "My Friend the Sea" landed her in the British Top Ten later that year. In France, "Ya Ya Twist" (a French-language cover of the Lee Dorsey
Lee Dorsey
Lee Dorsey was an African American pop/R&B singer during the 1960s. Much of his work was produced by Allen Toussaint with instrumental backing provided by the Meters.-Career:...
rhythm and blues song "Ya Ya" and the only successful recording of a twist
Twist (dance)
The Twist was a dance inspired by rock and roll music. It became the first worldwide dance craze in the early 1960s, enjoying immense popularity among young people and drawing fire from critics who felt it was too provocative. It inspired dances such as the Jerk, the Pony, the Watusi, the Mashed...
song by a female) and "Chariot" (the original version of "I Will Follow Him
I Will Follow Him
"I Will Follow Him" is a song recorded by Little Peggy March. The music was written by Franck Pourcel and Paul Mauriat . It was adapted by Arthur Altman...
") became smash hits in 1962, while German and Italian versions of her English and French recordings charted as well. Her recordings of several Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...
songs also were big sellers.
In 1964, Clark wrote the soundtrack for the French crime film A Couteaux Tirés (aka Daggers Drawn) and made a cameo appearance as herself in the movie. Although it was only a mild success, it added a new dimension — that of film composer — to her career. Additional film scores she composed include Animato (1969), La bande à Bebel (1966), and Pétain (1989). Six themes from the latter were released on the CD In Her Own Write in 2007.
In 1963 and 1964, Clark's British recording career foundered. The composer-arranger Tony Hatch
Tony Hatch
Anthony Peter "Tony" Hatch is an English composer, songwriter, pianist, music arranger and producer.-Early life and early career:...
, who had been assisting her with her work for Vogue Records in France and Pye Records in the UK, flew to her home in Paris with new song material he hoped would interest her, but she found none of it appealing. Desperate, he played for her a few chords of an incomplete song that had been inspired by his recent first trip to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, which he suggested might be offered to The Drifters
The Drifters
The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed to serve as Clyde McPhatter's backing group in 1953...
. Upon hearing the melody, Clark told him that if he could write lyrics as good as the melody, she wanted to record the tune as her next single. Thus "Downtown
Downtown (Petula Clark song)
"Downtown" is a pop song composed by Tony Hatch which, as recorded by Petula Clark, became an international hit – No. 1 in the US and No. 2 in the UK – at the end of 1964.-Original recording:...
" came into being.
"Downtown" era
Neither Clark, who was performing in Canada when the song first received major air-play, nor Hatch realized the impact the song would have on their respective careers. Released in four different languages in late 1964, "Downtown" was a success in the UK, France (in both the English and the French versions), the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Italy, and also Rhodesia, Japan, and India. During a visit to London, Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
executive Joe Smith heard it and acquired the rights for the United States. "Downtown" went to #1 on the American charts in January 1965, and three million copies were sold in America. It was the first of fifteen consecutive Top 40 hits Clark achieved in the United States, including "I Know a Place
I Know a Place
"I Know a Place" is a song with music and lyrics by Tony Hatch. It was recorded in 1965 by Petula Clark at the Pye Studios in Marble Arch in a session which featured drummer Bobby Graham and the Breakaways vocal group....
", "My Love
My Love (Petula Clark song)
"My Love" is a 1965 single release by Petula Clark which in early 1966 became an international hit, reaching #1 in the US: Clark's regular songwriter and producer Tony Hatch was responsible for "My Love"....
", "A Sign of the Times
A Sign of the Times
"A Sign of the Times" was the followup to Petula Clark's #1 US hit "My Love", continuing her association with writer/producer Tony Hatch though with a more percussive sound than was evident on Clark's previous singles – or would be evident on her later ones....
", "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love
I Couldn't Live Without Your Love
"I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" is a 1966 single written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent and recorded by Petula Clark. It was inspired by the affair the songwriters were having at the time....
", "This Is My Song
This Is My Song (1967 song)
"This Is My Song" is a song written by Charlie Chaplin in 1966 and performed by Petula Clark.-Origin/ Petula Clark recording:"This is My Song" was intended for the film, A Countess from Hong Kong, which Charlie Chaplin wrote and directed...
" (from the Charles Chaplin film A Countess from Hong Kong
A Countess from Hong Kong
A Countess from Hong Kong is a 1967 British comedy film and the last film directed by Charlie Chaplin. It was one of two films Chaplin directed in which he did not play a major role , and his only color film. Chaplin's cameo marked his final screen appearance...
), and "Don't Sleep in the Subway
Don't Sleep in the Subway
"Don't Sleep in the Subway" is a song written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent and recorded by Petula Clark. Released in April 1967, it peaked at #5 on the US charts that June. It was Clark's final US top-ten single and the second of two #1 hits on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, following "I...
". The American recording industry honored her with Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s for "Best Rock & Roll Record" for "Downtown" in 1964 and for "Best Contemporary Female Vocal Performance" for "I Know a Place" in 1965. In 2003, her recording of "Downtown" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame
Grammy Hall of Fame Award
The Grammy Hall of Fame Award is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance"...
.
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
and Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
, guest shots on Hullabaloo
Hullabaloo (TV series)
Hullabaloo is an American musical variety series that ran on NBC from January 12, 1965 through August 29, 1966. Similar to Shindig! it ran in prime time in contrast to ABC's American Bandstand.-Overview:...
, Shindig!
Shindig!
Shindig! was an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles at the time who also created the show along with his wife Sharon Sheeley and production executive Art Stolnitz....
, The Kraft Music Hall, and The Hollywood Palace
The Hollywood Palace
The Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly on ABC from January 4, 1964 to February 7, 1970. It began as a mid-season replacement for the short-lived Jerry Lewis Show, another variety show which had lasted only three months...
, and inclusion in musical specials such as The Best on Record and Rodgers and Hart
Rodgers and Hart
Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership of composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist Lorenz Hart...
Today.
In 1968, NBC-TV invited Clark to host her own special in the U.S., and in doing so she inadvertently made television history. While singing a duet of "On the Path of Glory," an anti-war song that she had composed, with guest Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
, she took hold of his arm, to the dismay of a representative from the Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
Corporation, the show's sponsor, who feared that the moment would incur the racist bigotry of Southern viewers. When he insisted that they substitute a different take, with Clark and Belafonte standing well away from one another, Clark and the executive producer of the show — her husband, Wolff — refused, destroyed all other takes of the song and delivered the finished program to NBC with the touch intact. The program aired on 8 April 1968, with high ratings and critical acclaim. (To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the original telecast, Clark and Wolff appeared at the Paley Center for Media in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
on 22 September 2008, to discuss the broadcast and its impact, following a broadcast of the program.)
Clark later was the hostess of two more specials, another one for NBC and one for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
- one which served as a pilot for a projected weekly series. Clark declined the offer in order to please her children, who disliked living in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Clark revived her movie career in the late 1960s, starring in two big musical films. In Finian's Rainbow
Finian's Rainbow (film)
Finian's Rainbow is a 1968 American musical film directed by Francis Ford Coppola that stars Fred Astaire and Petula Clark. The screenplay by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy is based on their 1947 stage musical of the same name.-Plot:...
(1968), she starred opposite Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1950...
for her performance. With her role, she again made history by becoming Astaire's final on-screen dance partner. The following year she was cast with Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
in Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969 film)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1969 American musical film directed by Herbert Ross. The screenplay by Terence Rattigan is based on James Hilton's 1934 novella of the same name, which originally was adapted for the screen in 1939.-Plot:...
, a musical adaptation of the classic James Hilton
James Hilton
James Hilton was an English novelist who wrote several best-sellers, including Lost Horizon and Goodbye, Mr. Chips.-Biography:...
novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
. (Her last film to date has been the British production Never Never Land
Never, Never Land (1980 film)
Never Never Land is a 1980 British drama film directed by Paul Annett and starring Petula Clark, Cathleen Nesbitt, and Anne Seymour. It is named after Neverland, the magical setting of the classic children's tales of Peter Pan.-Plot synopsis:...
, released in 1980.) After that, her output of musical hits in the States diminished markedly, although she continued to record and make television appearances into the 1970s. By the mid-1970s, Clark scaled back her career in order to devote more time to her family. On December 31, 1976, she performed her hit song Downtown on BBC1's A Jubilee Of Music
A Jubilee of Music
A Jubilee of Music is a one off BBC Television entertainment show of 75 minutes duration, broadcast on 31 December 1976 on BBC1. The show was produced to celebrate the British music successes of the first twenty-five years of Elizabeth II's reign, ahead of the commencement of 1977, the year of her...
, celebrating British pop music for Queen Elizabeth II's impending Silver Jubilee
Silver Jubilee
A Silver Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, ruling anniversary or anything that has completed a 25 year mark...
.
Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
and his A&M
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
record label benefited from Clark's interest in encouraging new talent. In 1968, she brought French composer/arranger Michel Colombier
Michel Colombier
Michel Colombier was a French composer, songwriter, arranger, and conductor.- External links :*...
to the States to work as her musical director and introduced him to Alpert. (He went on to co-write Purple Rain
Purple Rain (song)
"Purple Rain" is a power ballad by Prince and The Revolution. It is the title track from the 1984 album of the same name, which in turn is the soundtrack album for the 1984 film of the same name, and was released as the third single from that album. The song is a combination of rock, pop, gospel,...
with Prince, composed the acclaimed pop symphony Wings and a number of soundtracks for American films.) Richard Carpenter
Richard Carpenter (musician)
Richard Lynn Carpenter is an American pop musician, best known as one half of the brother/sister duo The Carpenters, along with his sister Karen Carpenter. He was a producer, arranger, pianist and keyboardist, and occasional lyricist, as well as joining with Karen on harmony...
credited her with bringing him and his sister Karen to Alpert's attention when they performed at a premiere party for Clark's film Goodbye, Mr. Chips.
Post-"Downtown" era
During the early 1970s, Clark had chart singles on both sides of the Atlantic with: "Melody Man" (1970); "The Song Of My Life" (1971); "I Don't Know How To Love Him" (1972), "The Wedding Song (There Is Love)" (1972) and "Loving Arms" (1974).Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Clark toured in concerts in the States, and she often appeared in supper clubs such as the Copacabana
Copacabana (nightclub)
The Copacabana is a famous New York City nightclub. Many entertainers, among them Danny Thomas, Pat Cooper and the comedy team of Martin and Lewis, made their debuts at the Copacabana. The 1978 Barry Manilow song "Copacabana" is named after, and is about the nightclub. Part of the 2003 Yerba...
in New York City, the Ambassador Hotel's Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles, and the Empire Room at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
The Waldorf-Astoria is a luxury hotel in New York. It has been housed in two historic landmark buildings in New York City. The first, designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh, was on the Fifth Avenue site of the Empire State Building. The present building at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan is a...
, where she consistently broke house attendance records. During this period, she also appeared in print and radio ads for the Coca Cola Corp., television commercials for Plymouth automobiles, print and TV spots for Burlington Industries
Burlington Industries
Burlington Industries is a diversified U. S. fabric maker based in Greensboro, North Carolina. Founded in 1923, the company has operations in the United States, Mexico, and India and a global manufacturing and product development network based in Hong Kong. The company entered Chapter 11...
, television and print ads for Chrysler Sunbeam, and print ads for Sanderson Wallpaper in the UK.
In 1954, Clark had starred in a stage production of The Constant Nymph, but it wasn't until 1981, at the urging of her children, that she returned to legitimate theatre, starring as Maria von Trapp
Maria von Trapp
Maria Augusta von Trapp , also known as Baroness Maria von Trapp, was the stepmother and matriarch of the Trapp Family Singers...
in The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
in London's West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
. Opening to rave reviews and what was then the largest advance sale in British theatre history, Clark — proclaimed by Maria Von Trapp
Maria von Trapp
Maria Augusta von Trapp , also known as Baroness Maria von Trapp, was the stepmother and matriarch of the Trapp Family Singers...
herself as "the best Maria ever" — extended her initial six-month run to thirteen to accommodate the huge demand for tickets. In 1983, she took on the title role in George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's Candida
Candida (play)
Candida, a comedy by playwright George Bernard Shaw, was first published in 1898, as part of his Plays Pleasant. The central characters are clergyman James Morell, his wife Candida and a youthful poet, Eugene Marchbanks, who tries to win Candida's affections. The play questions Victorian notions...
. Later stage work includes Someone Like You in 1989 and 1990, for which she composed the score; Blood Brothers, in which she made her Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in 1993 at the Music Box Theatre
Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theater is a Broadway theatre located at 239 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.The once most aptly named theater on Broadway, the intimate Music Box was designed by architect C. Howard Crane and constructed by composer Irving Berlin and producer Sam H. Harris specifically to...
, followed by the American tour; and Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
's Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard (musical)
Sunset Boulevard is a musical with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on the 1950 film of the same title, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the...
, appearing in both the West End and American touring productions from 1995 through 2000. In 2004, she repeated her performance of Norma Desmond in a production at the Cork Opera House
Cork Opera House
Cork Opera House is a theatre and opera house in Cork in the Republic of Ireland. It was originally built in 1855, although its existence has not been continuous; having survived the burning of much of Cork by British forces in reprisal for an ambush of a military convoy in 1920 by Irish rebels,...
in the Republic of Ireland, which was later broadcast by the BBC. With more than 2,500 performances, she has played the role more often than any other actress.
A new disco re-mix of Downtown called Downtown '88 was released in 1988 registering Clark's first UK singles chart success since 1972, making the Top Ten in the UK in December 1988. A live vocal performance of this version was performed on the UK TV chart show Top Of The Pops. Clark recorded new material regularly throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and in 1992 released "Oxygen", a single produced by Nik Kershaw.
In both 1998 and 2002, Clark toured extensively throughout the UK. In 2000, she presented a self-written one-woman show, highlighting her life and career, to large critical and audience acclaim at the St. Denis Theater in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. A 2003 concert appearance at the Olympia in Paris has been issued in both DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
formats. In 2004, she toured Australia and New Zealand, appeared at the Hilton in Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, the Hummingbird Centre in Toronto, Humphrey's in San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, and the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, and participated in a multi-performer tribute to the late Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
at the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
. Following another British concert tour in early spring 2005, she appeared with Andy Williams
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
in his Moon River Theater in Branson, Missouri
Branson, Missouri
Branson is a city in Taney County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was named after Reuben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s....
, for several months, and she returned for another engagement in the fall of 2006, following scattered concert dates throughout the U.S. and Canada.
In November 2006, Clark was the subject of a BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
documentary entitled Petula Clark: Blue Lady and appeared with Michael Ball
Michael Ball (singer)
Michael Ashley Ball, born 27 June 1962) is a British actor, singer, and radio and TV presenter who is best known for the song "Love Changes Everything" and musical theatre roles such as Marius in Les Misérables, Alex in Aspects of Love, Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Edna Turnblad...
and Tony Hatch
Tony Hatch
Anthony Peter "Tony" Hatch is an English composer, songwriter, pianist, music arranger and producer.-Early life and early career:...
in a concert at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane broadcast by BBC Radio the following month. In December that year she made her first appearance in Iceland. Duets, a compilation including Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
, Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
, Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
, and the Everly Brothers, among others, was released in February 2007, and Solitude and Sunshine, a studio recording of all new material by composer Rod McKuen
Rod McKuen
Rod McKuen is an American poet, songwriter, composer, and singer. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range of recordings, which included popular music, spoken word poetry, film soundtracks, and classical music...
, was released in July of that year. She was the host of the March 2007 PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
pledge-drive special My Music: The British Beat, an overview of music's British invasion
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...
of the United States in the 1960s, followed by a number of concert dates throughout the U.S., the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. She can be heard on the soundtrack of the 2007 independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
Downtown: A Street Tale
Downtown: A Street Tale
Downtown: A Street Tale is a 2004 American drama film.Its focus is on a group of teenagers and twentysomethings living in the basement of an abandoned factory on 10th Avenue in Manhattan...
. Une Baladine (in English, a wandering minstrel), an authorized pictorial biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
by Francoise Piazza, was published in France and Switzerland in October 2007, and the following month Clark promoted it in bookshops and at book fairs.
Clark was presented with the 2007 Film & TV Music Award for Best Use of a Song in a Television Program for "Downtown" in the ABC series Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
. She completed a concert tour of England and Wales in Summer 2008, followed by concerts in Switzerland and the Philippines. Then & Now
Then & Now: The Very Best of Petula Clark
Then & Now: The Very Best of Petula Clark is a compilation album by British singer Petula Clark that was released on June 16, 2008. It's a collection of greatest hits, four newly-recorded tracks, and a previously unreleased recording....
, a compilation of greatest hits and several new Clark compositions, entered the British album charts in June 2008 and won Clark her first-ever Silver Disc for an album. Open Your Heart: A Love Song Collection, a compilation of previously unreleased material and new and remixed recordings, was released in January 2009. Additionally, her 1969 NBC special Portrait of Petula, already released on DVD for Region 2 viewers, is also being produced for Region 1. A collection of holiday songs titled This Is Christmas, which includes some new Clark compositions in addition to previously released material, was released in November 2009.
In 1998, Clark was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
by Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
.
In 2010, Clark became the President of the Hastings Musical Festival
Hastings Musical Festival
Hastings Musical Festival is an annual festival of the performing arts held in the White Rock Theatre, Hastings, England.-History:The Festival has been running since the early 1900s when Dr. Herman Brearley organised a festival ‘for the encouragement of choral singing’...
; she toured Australia, New Zealand and Quebec to sell out crowds, and appeared on the iconic "Vivement Dimanche" show on French television, where she promised a return to Paris in the new year. (She is to appear in concert at the Casino de Paris on 7th November of 2011.) Her Triple Best of CD, "Une Baladine" included 10 new tracks and one new studio recording "SOS Mozart" a writing collaboration of Gilbert Bécaud and Pierre Delanoë. Both her 3CD set and her new recording of "SOS Mozart" were produced by David Hadzis at the Arthanor Productions studio in Geneva and appeared on the French charts. She is patron of 2011 Dinard British Film Festival.
Filmography
- Medal for the GeneralMedal for the GeneralMedal for the General is a 1944 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey. The screenplay by Elizabeth Baron is based on the novel of the same title by James Ronald.-Plot:...
(1944) - Strawberry RoanStrawberry Roan (film)Strawberry Roan is a 1945 British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring William Hartnell and Carol Raye. The screenplay was developed from the 1932 novel of the same name by Wiltshire author A. G. Street, at the time a very popular, well-known and widely-admired work...
(1945) - Murder in ReverseMurder in ReverseMurder in Reverse? is a 1945 British thriller film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring William Hartnell, Jimmy Hanley, Petula Clark, Dinah Sheridan, and Chili Bouchier. After many years serving a prison sentence for a murder he didn't commit, a man tries to seek the truth behind the crime and...
(1945) - I Know Where I'm Going!I Know Where I'm Going!I Know Where I'm Going! is a 1945 romance film by the British-based film-makers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey, and features Pamela Brown, Finlay Currie and Petula Clark in her fourth film appearance....
(1945) - Trouble at Townsend (1946)
- London Town (1946)
- Vice Versa (1948)
- Easy MoneyEasy Money (1948 film)Easy Money, a satirical 1948 British film about one of the most beloved traditions of the English middle class, the football pool, is composed of four tales about the effect a major win has on four different groups in the postwar period...
(1948) - Here Come the HuggettsHere Come the HuggettsHere Come the Huggetts is a 1948 British film, the first of the Huggetts Trilogy about a working class English family. All three films were directed by Ken Annakin and released by Gainsborough Pictures....
(1948) - Vote for HuggettVote for HuggettVote for Huggett is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison and Diana Dors. Warner reprises his role as the head of a London family, in the post-war years. It was the second in the Huggetts Trilogy, after 1948's Here Come the Huggetts. In it,...
(1949) - The Huggetts AbroadThe Huggetts AbroadThe Huggetts Abroad is a 1949 British film starring Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Petula Clark and Susan Shaw. It was the final film of the Huggetts Trilogy. After Joe Huggett loses his job, the family decide to emigrate to South Africa travelling via a land route which takes them across Africa....
(1949) - Don't Ever Leave MeDon't Ever Leave MeDon't Ever Leave Me is a 1949 English romantic comedy film starring Petula Clark, Jimmy Hanley, Hugh Sinclair, Edward Rigby, and Anthony Newley...
(1949) - The Romantic AgeThe Romantic AgeThe Romantic Age is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Edmond T. Gréville. The screenplay by Peggy Barwell and Edward Dryhurst is based on the French novel Lycee des jeunes filles by Serge Véber....
(1949) - Dance HallDance Hall (film)Dance Hall is a 1950 British film directed by Charles Crichton. Appealing mainly to a female audience, the film was an unusual departure for the studio, known at the time primarily for its classic comedies starring Alec Guinness.-Plot:...
(1950) - White CorridorsWhite CorridorsWhite Corridors is a 1951 British drama film directed by Pat Jackson and based on a novel by Helen Ashton. It starred Googie Withers, Godfrey Tearle, James Donald and Petula Clark. The film is set in a hospital shortly after the establishment of the National Health Service. At the 1951 BAFTAS it...
(1951) - Madame LouiseMadame LouiseMadame Louise is a 1951 British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Richard Hearne, Petula Clark, Garry Marsh and Richard Gale. In order to settle her debts, the owner of a dress shop transfers control to a bookmaker. The bookmaker is wanted by a gang of criminals and much mayhem...
(1951) - The CardThe CardThe Card is a short comedic novel written by Arnold Bennett in 1911, . It was later made into a 1952 movie starring Alec Guinness and Petula Clark. It chronicles the rise of Edward Henry Machin from washerwoman's son to Mayor of Bursley...
(1952) - Made in HeavenMade in Heaven (1952 film)Made in Heaven is a 1952 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs which stars David Tomlinson, Petula Clark and Sonja Ziemann.A happy household is thrown into chaos when an attractive new housemaid arrives. The screenplay was based on a story by William Douglas-Home.-Cast:* David...
(1952) - The Runaway BusThe Runaway BusThe Runaway Bus is a 1954 British comedy film produced, written, and directed by Val Guest. It stars Frankie Howerd and Petula Clark.-Plot summary:...
(1954) - The Gay DogThe Gay DogThe Gay Dog is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Wilfred Pickles, Petula Clark and Megs Jenkins. A family acquire ownership of a greyhound which they plan to enter into a race.-Cast:* Wilfred Pickles - Jim Gay...
(1954) - The Happiness of Three Women (1954)
- Track the Man DownTrack the Man DownTrack the Man Down is a 1955 British drama film written by Paul Erickson and directed by R.G. Springsteen.The melodramatic crime caper centers on a robbery at a greyhound racetrack that results in the unintentional murder of a guard...
(1955) - That Woman OppositeThat Woman OppositeThat Woman Opposite is a 1957 British crime drama, directed by Compton Bennett and starring Phyllis Kirk, Dan O'Herlihy and William Franklyn...
(1957) - 6.5 Special (1958)
- À Couteaux Tirés (1964) (also composed score) (aka "Daggers Drawn" for the American release)
- Finian's RainbowFinian's Rainbow (film)Finian's Rainbow is a 1968 American musical film directed by Francis Ford Coppola that stars Fred Astaire and Petula Clark. The screenplay by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy is based on their 1947 stage musical of the same name.-Plot:...
(1968) - Goodbye, Mr. ChipsGoodbye, Mr. Chips (1969 film)Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1969 American musical film directed by Herbert Ross. The screenplay by Terence Rattigan is based on James Hilton's 1934 novella of the same name, which originally was adapted for the screen in 1939.-Plot:...
(1969) - Drôles de ZèbresDrôles de ZèbresDrôles de zèbres is a 1977 French comedy film.Two unemployed men, heavily in debt due to losses at the racetrack, are hired by a criminal mastermind to harass the guests of a hotel he hopes to purchase at a below-market price in order to access a tunnel below the building that leads directly to a...
(1977) - Never, Never LandNever, Never Land (1980 film)Never Never Land is a 1980 British drama film directed by Paul Annett and starring Petula Clark, Cathleen Nesbitt, and Anne Seymour. It is named after Neverland, the magical setting of the classic children's tales of Peter Pan.-Plot synopsis:...
(1980) - Sans FamilleSans FamilleSans Famille is an 1878 French novel by Hector Malot. Most recent English translation is "Alone in the World" by AJ de Bruyn, 2007.-First Volume:...
(1981 French television miniseries)
Notable French singles
- Prends Mon Coeur(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I" A Fool Such as I" is a popular song written by Bill Trader and was published in 1952. Performed by Hank Snow it peaked at number four on the country charts early in 1953....
("A Fool Such as I") (1960, #9) - "Garde-moi la dernière danse (Save the Last Dance for MeSave The Last Dance For Me"Save the Last Dance for Me" is the title of a popular song written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, first recorded in 1960 by Ben E. King with The Drifters....
)" (1961, #3) - "Marin (SailorSailor (Song)Sailor is a song written by Werner Scharfenberger and Fini Busch which via a 1960 recording by Lolita became an international hit, with its #5 peak on the Hot 100 chart in Billboard making "Sailor" the most successful American hit sung in German until 99 Luftballons by Nena in 1984.With English...
)" (1961, #2) - "RoméoRomeo (Petula Clark song)Romeo was a 1961 hit single for Petula Clark peaking at #3 on the UK chart dated 26 August.The song was a 1921 composition by Robert Stolz for which Jimmy Kennedy wrote a new lyric...
" (1961, #1) - "Ya Ya TwistYa Ya (Lee Dorsey song)"Ya Ya" is a song by Lee Dorsey. The song was written by Lee Dorsey, Clarence Lewis, Morgan Robinson and Morris Levy. It was inspired by a children's nursery rhyme.-Chart performance:...
" (1962, #1) - "Chariot" (later also known as "I Will Follow HimI Will Follow Him"I Will Follow Him" is a song recorded by Little Peggy March. The music was written by Franck Pourcel and Paul Mauriat . It was adapted by Arthur Altman...
") (1962, #1) - "Les Beaux Jours" (original title: "Ramblin' Rose") (1963, #10)
- "Cœur Blessé" (original title: "Torture" by John D. LoudermilkJohn D. LoudermilkJohn D. Loudermilk is an American singer and songwriter.-Biography:Born in Durham, North Carolina, Loudermilk grew up in a family who were members of the Salvation Army faith and was influenced by the church singing. His cousins Ira and Charlie Loudermilk were known professionally as the Louvin...
; lyric by Jean KlugerJean KlugerJean Kluger is a Belgian artist, producer, songwriter and musical composer.His career started in 1957, working for his father's company, World Music. He wrote widely for the French and German pop music markets, including songs for Dalida, Will Tura, Ringo and Petula Clark...
, Daniel VangardeDaniel VangardeDaniel Vangarde, born Daniel Bangalter in 1947, is a French songwriter and producer. He is the father of music composer Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk.-History:...
, Claude Carrere, Jean Broussolle) (1963, #1) - "Je me sens bien auprès de toi (Dance OnDance OnDance On! is an instrumental by the British guitar group, The Shadows. It went to number 1 in the UK. It was also recorded in a vocal version by British female soloist Kathy Kirby, whose version reached number 11 in the UK chart in September 1963....
)" (1963, # 3) - "Ceux qui ont un cœur (Anyone Who Had a Heart)" (1964, #7)
- "Dans le temps (DowntownDowntown (Petula Clark song)"Downtown" is a pop song composed by Tony Hatch which, as recorded by Petula Clark, became an international hit – No. 1 in the US and No. 2 in the UK – at the end of 1964.-Original recording:...
)" (1965, #6) - "Un jeune homme bien (Well Respected Man)" (1965)
- "C'est Ma Chanson" ("This is My SongThis Is My Song"This Is My Song" may refer to:*At least four popular songs:**"This Is My Song" , a song written by Lloyd Stone in 1934 to the tune of Jean Sibelius' Finlandia....
") (1967, #1) - "La dernière valse (The Last WaltzThe Last Waltz (song)"The Last Waltz" is a song written by Barry Mason and Les Reed. It was one of Engelbert Humperdinck's biggest hits, spending five weeks at number one on the British charts in September and October 1967...
)" (1967, #2) - "Tout le monde veut aller au ciel" (1967)
Notable German singles
- "Monsieur" (by Karl Götz, Kurt Hertha; German language song) (1962, #1)
- "Casanova Baciami" (song with German lyric) (1963, #2)
- "Cheerio" (German language version of "Chariot") (1963, #6)
- "Mille Mille Grazie" (song with mainly German lyric) (1963, #9)
- "Warum muß man auseinandergeh'n (Mit weißen Perlen)" (1964, #17)
- "Alles ist nun vorbei (Anyone Who Had a Heart)" (1964, #37)
- "Downtown" (1965, German version, #1)
- "Kann ich dir vertrauen" (1966, #17)
- "Verzeih' die dummen Tränen" (1966, German version of "My Love", #21)
- "Love - so heißt mein Song" (1967, German version of "This is My Song", #23)
- "Alle Leute wollen in den Himmel", (1967, German version of "Tout le monde veut aller au ciel", #28)
Notable Italian singles
- "Monsieur" (the German song with italian lyrics by Vito PallaviciniVito PallaviciniVito Pallavicini was an Italian lyricist.Born in Vigevano, he wrote numerous songs, during his career for Adriano Celentano , Caterina Caselli and many others. He died at the age of 83....
(1962, #1) - "Sul mio carro (Chariot)" (1962, #1)
- "Quelli che hanno un cuore (Anyone who had a heart)" (1964, #4)
- "Invece no" (Entry at the San Remo Festival 1965, # 5)
- "Ciao, ciao (DowntownDowntown (Petula Clark song)"Downtown" is a pop song composed by Tony Hatch which, as recorded by Petula Clark, became an international hit – No. 1 in the US and No. 2 in the UK – at the end of 1964.-Original recording:...
)", (1965, #1) - "Cara felicita' (This is my song)" (1967, # 1)
- "Kiss Me GoodbyeKiss Me Goodbye (Petula Clark song)"Kiss Me Goodbye" is a Les Reed/Barry Mason composition recorded in 1968 by Petula Clark.-Background:After recording the Reed/Mason composition "The Last Waltz" for her 1967 album The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener Clark had rendered that song as "La derniere valse" for release in France to...
(Italian version)" (1968, #26)
Complete Spanish recordings
- "Qué tal, Dolly? (Hello, Dolly!Hello, Dolly! (song)"Hello, Dolly!" is the title song of the popular 1964 musical of the same name. Louis Armstrong's version was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001....
)" - "Pequeña Flor (Petite FleurPetite FleurPetite Fleur is a successful instrumental written by Sidney Bechet and recorded in January 1952 with the Sidney Bechet All Stars.In 1959 it was a big hit for Chris Barber's Jazz Band...
)" - "Tú no tienes corazón (Anyone Who Had a Heart)"
- "Cantando al caminar (The Road)"
All four songs were released in 1964 in Spain on Hispavox EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
"Petula Clark canta en Español" (Cat.-No. HV 27-126).
Other noteworthy recordings
- "Put Your Shoes On Lucy" (1949)
- "House in the Sky" (1949)
- "I'll Always Love You" (1949)
- "Clancy Lowered the Boom" (1949)
- "You Go To My Head" (1950)
- "Music! Music! Music!Music! Music! Music!"Music! Music! Music!" is a popular song written by Stephen Weiss and Bernie Baum and published in 1949.The biggest-selling version of the song was recorded by Teresa Brewer on December 20, 1949, and released by London Records as catalog number 604. It became a #1 hit and a million-seller in 1950...
" (1950) - "You Are My True Love" (1950)
- "Mariandl" (with Jimmy YoungJimmy Young (disc jockey)Sir Jimmy Young CBE was a British singer, disc jockey and radio interviewer.-Early life:...
) (1951) - "Where Did My Snowman Go?" (1952)
- "The Card" (1952)
- "Christopher Robin At Buckingham Palace" (1953)
- "Meet Me In Battersea Park" (1954)
- "Suddenly There's A ValleySuddenly There's a Valley"Suddenly There's a Valley" is a popular song written by Chuck Meyer and Biff Jones and published in 1955.The song was a major hit for Gogi Grant in 1955. Her recording was issued by Era Records as catalog number 1003 and reached Billboard magazine's Top 10...
" (1955) - "Another Door Opens" (1956)
- "With All My HeartWith All My Heart"With All My Heart" is a popular song, based on an originally French and Italian language song called "Gondolier." It was written by Peter De Angelis and Bob Marcucci....
" (1957) - "Fibbin'" (1958)
- "Devotion" (1958)
- "Dear Daddy" (1959)
- "Mama's Talkin' Soft" (1959), a song deleted from GypsyGypsy: A Musical FableGypsy is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Gypsy is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, and focuses on her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business...
prior to its Broadway opening - "Cinderella Jones" (1960)
- "Marin" ("Sailor") (1961)
- "Cœur blessé" (1963)
- "Ceux qui ont un cœur" ("Anyone Who Had a Heart") (1964)
- "Invece no" (1965)
- "Dans le temps" ("Downtown") (1965)
- "Sauve-moi" (1977)
- "Mr. Orwell" (1984)
- Blood Brothers (International Recording) (1995)
- Songs from Sunset BoulevardSunset Boulevard (musical)Sunset Boulevard is a musical with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on the 1950 film of the same title, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the...
(1996) - Here for You (1998)
- The Ultimate Collection (2002)
- Kaleidoscope (2003)
- "Starting All Over Again" (2003)
- Live at the Paris Olympia (2004)
- "Driven by Emotion" (2005)
- "Memphis" (2005)
- "Together" (2006), recorded as a duet with Andy WilliamsAndy WilliamsHoward Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
- "Thank You for Christmas" (2006)
- "Simple Gifts" (2006)
- "It had to be you" (2007)
- Duets (2007)
- Solitude and Sunshine (2007)
- In Her Own Write (2007),also featuring a guest recording by Amanda-Jane Manning of My Love Will Never Die
- Then & NowThen & Now: The Very Best of Petula ClarkThen & Now: The Very Best of Petula Clark is a compilation album by British singer Petula Clark that was released on June 16, 2008. It's a collection of greatest hits, four newly-recorded tracks, and a previously unreleased recording....
(2008) - Open Your Heart: A Love Song Collection (2009)
- This is Christmas (2009)
External links
- petulaclark.co.uk British website
- Glenn Gould dissects the music and image of Petula Clark in a 1967 CBC broadcast
- BBC interview
- Union Jack interview
- BBC Radio Wales interview, January 2007
- Las Vegas Sun interview, February 2007
- BBC Radio Wales interview, August 2008
- discoogle.com discography
- Hastings Musical Festival